Tied to You
by brainysmrf
Summary: An old friend comes to town to see Booth but have they come for more than a visit? Set back in season 3.
1. Chapter 1

**Please keep in mind that this is set in season 3**

Brennan quickly made her to Booth's office, with her eyes fixed to the screen on her phone, as she pushed the door open she said without looking up, "Booth, sorry I'm late – we're preparing a new Native American exhibit and with Zach gone I….." She looked up and saw a woman who was definitely not her partner. "You're not Booth."

A woman, who could only be described by Brennan as 'visually stimulating' with dark, red hair smiled at Brennan. "No, no I'm not but there was a period of time in the mid 90's when I was on my way to being _a_Booth." The woman stood up and extended her right hand "Hi, I'm a friend of Seeley's, Kate Davis…"

Brennan shook the ladies hand, her mind was spinning with a million questions but all she could manage was "Do you know where Booth is? We're late for an appointment."

"I'm not sure. He just ran out of here saying that he was late and that some bones were going to be mad at him, not sure what he meant by that, I'm sorry."

"He calls me Bones." Brennan shoved her phone in her pocket and sighed, "I'm Booth's partner, he calls me Bones…it was nice meeting you but I have to go." She stumbled out of the office headed down the hall.

"Nice meeting you too!" Kate called after her.

B&B

"Bones, glad you could make it!" Booth said with a smile.

"Sorry I'm late, we're really backed up at the lab and..." for a split second she considered confronting Booth about the woman in his office but decided against it. He would never blindside her in front of Sweets and she wasn't about to do it to him. "I stopped by your office but..."

Quickly he glanced at her and asked, "You stopped by my office?"

"Yes, I stopped by _your_ office." The two stared at each other until Sweets clapped his hands together once and said "Ok, let's get started"

B&B

After their session, Booth stopped Brennan in the hallway and thanked her for not bringing up his visitor with Sweets.

"Not a problem. She said she was an old friend? I take that to mean an old girlfriend."

Booth took a defensive stance, crossing his arms across his chest and shook his head, "Just a friend, a good friend, that's all..."

"Hmmmm" she said as she pushed the down button on the elevator.

"What?"

She shook her head, "Nothing."

"No, you made that 'I don't believe you Booth' noise. What?"

Brennan cleared her throat, "It's just that in my experience men aren't friends with women they haven't slept with or don't want to sleep with."

"You and I are friends."

She glared at him, "No, we're partners."

Before Booth could think of a comeback Brennan was standing behind the closing doors of the elevator.

B&B

Booth made his way back to his office and found Kate sitting at his desk on her cell phone having a very heated conversation. She looked up at Booth and rolled her eyes.

"Sorry Rick, I just…I can't." She told the person on the other end of her call before she hung up.

"Seeley, I do not remember you being this hot..." she gestured towards him as she looked him up and down. She shook her head slowly and leaned toward him, "'Because if I did, I wouldn't have stayed gone so long."

He leaned forward and grinned like a school boy. He opened his mouth to ask how long she was going to be in town, but his phone rang before he had the chance. "Booth" he answered the phone "Hey Caroline...no...she just left...well, I assume she's back at her lab...I'm actually kind of in the middle of...ok - fine...the diner at" he looked at his watch "12:45?...ok...ok...I'll get Bones...bye." He snapped his phone shut.

"Busy?"

Booth shook his head as he slipped his phone back into his pocket, "Not very. How long are you going to be in town?"

Kate shrugged, "Don't know yet. I'm just playing it by ear."

"That's not like you."

She grinned wickedly, "I've changed, Seeley."

He matched her grin, "I doubt that."

"You'll just have to see for yourself I guess." She slowly licked her upper lip and Booth's pulse sped up.

"Ok, here's the deal. I have a few things that I need to do today and then I should be able to take a few days off."

"Seeley Booth," she smiled, "taking time away from protecting the universe for little ol' me, will wonders never cease?"

He stood and smoothed his jacket, "Yeah, yeah, yeah…Free for dinner tonight, Katie?" straightening his tie.

"I am. Pick me up at 8? I'm staying at the Hilton in Georgetown. And by the way, no one calls me Katie anymore."

"Ah you'll always be Katie to me." Booth watched as she stood and rounded the desk. She approached him and grabbed his lapels with both hands.

Booth's mind was racing and he barely had time to think about his next words before he said them, "A hotel? Come on, you are more than welcome to stay with me."

"I think I'll take you up on that offer. Thanks for offering Agent Booth"

"Hey, what are friends for?" He felt flushed as she pressed her chest to his, "And by the way you will always be Kat_ie_ to me?"

"Ok, I'll allow it." She paused for a moment and then asked, "So I met your partner. What's the deal with you and her?" She was gazing up at him with her china blue eyes and he could barely speak.

He cleared his throat. "Oh, Bones?" he chuckled, "with Bones it's all about the work - we're partners, just partners."

"Good, then this little visit will be fun." She reached up on her tiptoes to press her lips to his. And before Booth knew it, he forgot that he was in his office in the Hoover building. As her lips collided with his, he was back in college, back in the crappy apartment they shared senior year. With one soft, wet kiss he was back under the all-consuming spell that was Katie Davis.


	2. Chapter 2

After Booth gave Katie keys and directions to his house he headed over to the Jeffersonian to pick Bones up for a lunch meeting with Caroline to go over their testimony for a court case the following week that she was prosecuting. He was not in the mood to deal with either of them at the moment, he wanted to take off and spend the day with Katie but he had obligations and no one could ever accuse Seeley Booth of running away from his obligations.

Booth tried to put all thoughts about Katie out of his mind as he walked into the lab. Before he had a chance to make it to Brennan's office he was stopped by Hodgins.

"Dude, what did you do to Dr. Brennan? She came back from your session madder than a….."

Booth cut him off, "Don't call me dude…". He stared down Hodgins for a brief moment and then quickly made his way to his partner's office. He knocked on her open door and gave her his best high-watt smile "Hey Bones, grab your coat we're going to lunch with Caroline to discuss the Stewart case."

"Can't, I have work to do" she said without even looking up from her desk.

"Bones, this _is _work, so come let's skedaddle"

"Can't we meet tomorrow?" she looked up at him.

"No, I'll be out of the office tomorrow, we have to go today, soooo… let's go Bones!"

"Since when are you off tomorrow?

Booth shrugged, "I just decided to take a little personal time."

Brennan grinned, "And it has nothing to do with your _friend _showing up?" She used her fingers for air quotes around the word friend. Booth grimaced as he regretted ever teaching her that.

"Yes Bones, I want to spend time with my _friend _so I decided to take a few days off. If something comes up I'll be around but I won't be in the office, ok?" Can we go? Please?"

"Fine, let me take this to Angela and then we can go." she walked out of her office with a folder. Booth stood motionless trying to find the nerve to get in a vehicle with Bones. He hated when she got like this, he was so uncomfortable discussing his life with her even though he was always on her case to share her life with him.

Booth sighed and mumbled, "Gotta love a double standard."

B&B

After a quick lunch with Caroline, Booth and Brennan were in his SUV headed back to the Jeffersonian.

"How long have you known Kate?"

"Kat_ie _and I met in college."

"How long did you and Kat_ie _date?" she asked with emphasis on the 'tie'.

"I never said we did"

"Don't insult me, Booth."

"Six years, ok? She and I were together for six years - two in college and the four while I was in the Army, what's with the sudden interest in my personal life?"

Brennan was surprised, she never imagined that Booth or anyone for that matter would be able to sustain a relationship for such a long time at such a young age. "That's a long time." she said more to herself than to Booth.

"Yeah…" he sighed more than spoke.

"Why'd you break up?"

Getting more annoyed by the minute, Booth decided that answering her questions about his personal life was a small price to pay to get her off his back. He sighed "I don't know, I guess we wanted different things out of life. She got a job with a sports management firm in L.A. and I decided to join the bureau when I was discharged..." He paused and glanced over at her, "Haven't you ever been with someone who no matter how much you cared about them, you just didn't see a future with them?"

"I've never seen a future with anyone." she said as she looked out the window.

"Then you understand." Booth's heart sank when he thought about Brennan being alone for the last 15 years and the devastating affect it had on her psyche.

"You seem awful happy to see someone who you didn't want a future with."

"No, I wanted a future we just didn't work out. Bones, don't you...even though it didn't work out with Katie it's great to see her ya know?"

"What's so great about it?" she snapped without looking at him.  
He stroked his chin methodically as he found a way to explain him and Katie to Brennan, "Because she reminds me of who I was before the Army, before the bureau and..."

"She makes you experience nostalgia, you get to ruminate on, what some would call, your glory days."

Booth smiled, "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"She's very pretty."

He nodded, "Yes, she is."

Brennan chewed on her bottom lip and then asked, "How long is she going to be in town?"

"I don't know, actually she doesn't know either." he said staring at the road

"And she's staying at a hotel or with you?"

"With me." He said mindlessly then snapped back, "Why do you care?"

"Oh, I don't care... but just in case I need...or we have a case I don't want to interrupt anything."

"Bones, are you ok with me taking the weekend off? I mean we're not in the middle of anything and..."

"Of course" she cut him off.

"Good" he said with a smile.

He dropped Brennan off at the lab, cheerfully wished her a good weekend and was gone.

As he pulled away it dawned on Booth that he had left her in the parking lot and didn't walk her in which he always did. He called her office to apologize but hung up when she didn't answer.


	3. Chapter 3

Booth arrived home shortly after dropping Brennan off and found Kate curled up in a ball, asleep on his couch. Watching her sleep, he couldn't remember why they split. He sat down in the recliner and much to his delight he there was a rerun of the previous night's Sportscenter on TV.

"Perfect woman…" he muttered under his breath.

He was never a man to jump in bed with random women, he prided himself on that fact but he reasoned with himself that she wasn't a random woman - they had dated, hell they had lived together. She wasn't random, she was actually closer to home than any place he'd been in a long time.

He looked around his apartment and sighed as he closed his eyes, he liked the feeling of coming home and someone being there, waiting for him. Suddenly it dawned on him that if he hadn't been so stubborn 10 years ago he could have this every day.

Kate quietly rolled over and watched Booth. He was reclined in the chair with his eyes closed and she could tell he was trying to work something out in his mind.

"Everything ok, Bud?"

His eyes flew open and he smiled at Kate, "Everything is great. Sleep well?"

Standing to stretch, she yawned, "I did, all of this traveling has kicked my ass."

"Where've you been?"

"Nashville, Miami, Portland and now here."

"For work?"

Kate shrugged, "Not really." Changing the subject quickly she asked, "Wanna get some dinner?" She didn't wait for an answer before she went to get changed.

Booth didn't think to ask her what 'not really' meant after he saw her pull her top off as she entered his bedroom.

B&B

While at dinner Booth started to remember what it was like to date a normal woman – not that his usual dining companion wasn't a woman it's just that she wasn't anywhere near normal. He forgot what it was like to be out with someone who actually wants to be with him, who wasn't forced to work with him, someone who laughs with him, not at him and doesn't correct his grammar._Why am I comparing Katie to Bones? There is no comparison,_he thought. The problem was he wasn't sure who was falling short of whom in his mind. They were both smart, confident, beautiful, funny woman but Katie was here now, with him, and if nothing else she deserved his undivided attention.

"Do you see Parker much?" she asked.

"Almost every weekend – unless I get stuck working. He's so amazing – I can't believe that he's my kid." he said beaming.

"You always wanted a big family, how's that coming along?" she said teasing him "I know that you're not dating right now and you haven't dated anyone seriously since Tessa – you're not getting any younger, Seeley."

"You know, I did always want a big family, get married, have a few kids, grow old, have grandkids but that just might not be in the cards for me and I'm ok with that." he had a look in his eyes that told Kate this was something that he had given a lot of thought.

"It's not like you to give up on something, Bud. You have always set your sights on something and made it happen. Why give up on the life you want?"

He sat back in his chair and mulled her question over. "As I get older I realize that there is a big difference in what you think you want and what the powers that be," he pointed up to the ceiling, "know you need. Isn't there a famous quote that says 'What I want is what I've not got but what I need is all around me'? I have everything I need."

"You sound happy, happier than you've sounded in years – that famous Booth sparkle is back in full force." she smiled not only because she was happy that he had found his place in the world but also because now she knew he would be able to handle her reason for coming to town.

"Well, you would have seen it sooner if you came to visit once in a while instead of checking in on me over the phone" he winked at her and leaned closer to her .

"I didn't come to visit you because whenever I see you…it's just…..Seeley, I don't have much self-restraint, for the bulk of my life I have run around just doing what feels good and…."

He cut her off, "And I feel good?" he asked with a grin.

Kate smiled, her eyes twinkled and she assured him, "You have no idea, Seeley."


	4. Chapter 4

The sound of his front door closing was like a starter gun.

The glimpse of her he had gotten earlier, walking into his bedroom, pulling her shirt up and over her head, the soft swell of her breasts in her lacey teal bra, the soft curve of her hips flaring from her thin waist, had never left him. His thoughts returned to it often through dinner and with it came a thousand memories of her. He remembered how she felt, how she tasted, he remembered how damn good it had been all those years ago. And as they entered his apartment she had turned and looked at him and he knew she was remembering it too.

He closed the door and reached for her.

And she came willingly. He pulled her to him and their bodies connected so forcefully that they slammed against the closed door. Her mouth was on his before he could blink. The kiss was eager, frenzied, and for a moment it was all that mattered.

"It was always good," he said, gasping for air when she released his lips.

"Better than good."

She moved in for another kiss, but he turned his head enough to speak, he wanted to be certain they were both certain. "It's been a long time. Are you sure?"

"Seeley shut the hell up!"

Her mouth found his again and her teeth settled around his bottom lip. She bit gently and tugged. Booth's lips parted and her tongue found his. Oh, hell yes, she remembered. His left arm slid around her waist and he spun on his heel. Suddenly it was her back pressed against the wall. She was pulling his shirt up, her warm hands sliding up his torso as they lifted the garment, and it felt so comfortable, as if this was the way he was supposed to undress. The soft cotton passed over his head and he grabbed her shirt tail. In one rapid movement he lifted it over her head and flung it to the floor. He heard a soft ripping sound and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Sorry."

"Always the eager beaver," she joked giving him a taunting grin he remembered like he had seen it yesterday.

"I think I'm not the only one," he challenged. She laughed as he scooped her up. The teal lace bra scratched against his bare chest as she settled into place and she wiggled because she remembered he would like it. Her legs circled his waist and he walked toward his bedroom. He heard her shoes dropping as she kicked them off and he toed his off as mid-step.

When he reached the bed she slid her legs down his body until she stood on her own feet. His hands worked the clasp on her jeans and he pushed them down. The soft flesh of her ass was warm and he slid his touch over her, tracing the thin strip of a thong he knew would be the same tempting color as the bra.

"Get naked," she ordered between the soft kisses and sharp nips she was peppering against his chest.

His fingers worked to loosen his own pants and once undone he had them off instantly. Katie gave his ass one playful slap and then fell back onto the bed. Her eyes gleamed brightly as she scampered into a better position. "Don't keep me waiting," she purred.

He was ready for her, so ready, so damn eager. He hadn't thought much about her in recent years, he had moved on, but seeing her there, on his bed, wanting him, it felt like they had never parted. His eyes moved over her, up her long legs, over the still-clad core—that skimpy little thong was teal, over her thin waist and her delicious breasts in that tempting bra, to her gorgeous face. She looked exactly as he remembered her. Perfect, sexy, luscious.

"You forget how?"

Her playful taunt pulled him from his mesmerized examination and he crawled over her. "I haven't forgotten any of it."

Her hand lifted to caress his cheek and her blue eyes stunned him with the honesty he saw. "I haven't forgotten one single second."

He kissed her, claimed her, as if all their years apart meant nothing and she was still his. Her bra was gone in less than a second and he palmed the left breast. She moaned as his grip tightened and he smiled against her mouth. No, he hadn't forgotten anything.

He wanted her completely naked but when his hands slid down to her hips she surprised him. In the blink of an eye he found himself on his back. She kissed him and then slowly lifted her body until she straddled his hips.

"You want these?" she asked playfully.

He reached out to finger the lace and she slapped his hand away. "I'll get it," she said softly.

Booth watched as she slowly stripped. When the tiny scrap of lace reached her knees she rolled onto her back and lifted her legs. He bit his lip as he watched her teasing him, bringing the garment down as if to finally be naked and then halting the progress. Finally, she pulled it from her body and rolled to her tummy. With a wicked gleam in her eyes she dropped the panties on his face. "There you go," she taunted.

He had to have her. Now. Again.

Growling he snatched the cloth and hurled it away from him. She laughed at the look on his face. Hell she was right, he was eager. Eager to have her, feel her, taste her, he couldn't wait another moment. She didn't resist when he rolled them back over and he settled between her legs as she pulled him down for a kiss. He was so hard and the soft curve of her body felt wonderful. He rolled his hips for the sheer pleasure of feeling her softness against him. Her legs coiled around his, and her hands skimmed his back, so that there was as much skin-to-skin contact as she could get.

With languid kisses he moved from her mouth. Slowly, thoroughly, he rediscovered her body. He remembered the curve of her neck. He could never forget the taste of her skin. The soft, pliant flesh of her breasts still filled him with desire and he toyed with them. The soft sounds she made as he indulged himself made him smile and he lingered.

His game only fueled his need and he moved on. Belly, hips, legs, every inch of her was like a reminder of his youth.

Slowly he moved back to her lips.

"Ok, I give," she said in a breathless admission. "I'm the eager one."

Her blue eyes were the same, they touched something he had forgotten, something deep inside himself he had thought long gone, lost in years of duty and sacrifice and mistakes. But there was something else there now too, something wiser, more seasoned, and it tempted him. He wanted to know that too.

He held her gaze as her legs parted and she lifted herself to meet him. Wise, loving, icy blue, they closed as he pushed his way inside her.

"Shit!" The exclamation was his only option. He was not prepared for the way it felt. Their bodies joined and he was young again, and she was his.

"How could we forget this?" she asked as her body arched at the pleasure.

His answer was a kiss. With each movement they made the years fell away and when they toppled together into a moment more vivid and pleasurable than any memory, it was perfect.

B&B

Later that night as they laid side by side, they reveled in the feeling of being together once again, a feeling that feeling immediately lead to them reminiscing.

"Remember that time Jared came to visit you at school and you ended up locking him in your dorm room the whole weekend so he wouldn't get in trouble?"

Booth laughed, "Oh man, he was so pissed at me."

"How's he doing?

"He's fine, we still don't talk much. I mean, I wish we were closer but…"

"And Pops?"

Booth chuckled, "Still as ornery as ever. I haven't seen him in a while but we talk."

She rolled over to face him and draped the sheet over her torso, "Why haven't you been home? That's not like you."

He sighed and ran his hand down his face, "I know being busy isn't much of an excuse but work is always crazy and when I'm not working I want to be with Parker so…."

"I know, I get the 'you never call, you never write' speech from my Dad and sister all the time. Diana says hi by the way."

"She still have the hots for me?" he grinned.

"Her and most women within a 100 yard radius. I really don't get it Seeley, how the hell are you still single?"

"Hey, you tell me. I'm not the one who moved across the country and then dumped me in a letter. I wanted to get married if you remember…"

A look of sadness flashed across her face and she rolled onto her back, covering her eyes with her forearm.

Booth moved closer to her, "Hey, I didn't mean to upset you."

"I know but I still feel guilty about it. I let one of the few good men left in the world get away because…because….well, laying here right now I don't even remember why. Sometimes when I can't sleep at night I find myself running that last month we were together over and over in my head trying to make sense of it. 10 years later I still can't."

He reached out and stroked her hair before cradling her cheek, "Honestly, either can I. You completely blind-sided me. I finished up with the army and had every intention of coming home to you and getting married and getting started on that big family we always talked about. But when I got back to the apartment you were gone. It took me a long time to get over that and even longer to get over you." He leaned over and kissed her gently, "Ultimately I think we're both better off, don't you?"

"I do." She had tears welling in her eyes

"What's wrong, Katie?" He sat up, leaning against the headboard and pulled her with him, her cheek resting on his bare chest.

She sighed heavily and sat up so they were sitting shoulder to shoulder, staring out into the darkness of his room she asked, "Do you remember when my Mom died? It was our senior year."

Booth nodded, "Of course I do. It was a heart condition."

"Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy."

"Yeah, I remember that she was gone so quick, diagnosed at Christmas-"

Kate cut him off and softly finished his sentence, "and gone by Valentine's Day… "

He turned toward her and wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder. They sat in comforting but sad silence, both remembering how he was the only one she cried to when her mother passed – the only one she trusted to be vulnerable with.

She broke the silence when she said in a small, shaky voice, "Seeley, I'm here to say good-bye."


	5. Chapter 5

Booth knew exactly what she meant but he still asked, "What do you mean?"

She wiped the tears off her face and took a deep breath, "I have what Mom had. I was diagnosed about two months ago."

"How long?" He asked just above a whisper.

"At the time they gave me four to six months. I'm headed home to Philly after this weekend to be with my family. But I wanted to come and say good-bye to you in person. You're my last stop."

Not knowing what to say, he wrapped his arms around her and held her as tight as he could, as if _his_ life depended on it. Her tears dampened his chest and his arms around her tightened. He didn't know what to say and was afraid that if he spoke he would start to cry and never stop. He rubbed her back trying to soothe her. After several long moments, she sat up and ran her hand through his hair, "I'm sorry, Bud."

"Why didn't you tell me before? I know we've talked at least once in the last two months. How could you not tell me?"

"Seeley, what could you have done?"

"I know people, I could have gotten you set up with the best doctors. I could have come out and stayed with you. I would do anything you needed me to, you know that."

"That's exactly why I didn't tell you, why I didn't plan on telling you. I know people too. I have seen great doctors and I don't want you upsetting your life for me, that wouldn't be fair. I just wanted to come and spend a nice weekend with my old friend Seeley one last time. But I never could keep anything from you."

"I can't just sit back and let you die. I'm not that kind of person, I'm sure there's something that can be done, you're young and healthy…."

"Except for the whole, I'm dying thing…" A faint smile fell across her lips.

"That's not funny." He rubbed his hand over the newly formed stubble.

"If I couldn't laugh about it, I would never get out of bed in the morning." To make sure he heard every word of what she had to say, she threw a leg over his and sat on his lap and grasped his face, "I don't want you to be sad about this, that's why I didn't plan on telling you. Promise me you won't wallow in this. I need you to promise me."

He looked into her eyes, the eyes that mesmerized him all those years ago, the eyes that still haunted him and he knew that he had to obey her wishes. "Ok, I'll try. This is just a shock, it's not every day that you find out something like this."

"I know, I know…" she said, barely above a whisper. With a glance at the clock on his bedside table, she asked, "Is 3am too late for a drink?"

Booth shook his head, "Not tonight."

Kate scampered off his lap and grabbed his robe off the door. It smelled like him and he smelled like no other man she'd ever known. She pulled the collar up around her neck and followed him to the kitchen.

He was standing in the dim light of the kitchen in nothing but his boxers rummaging through a cabinet looking for glasses. "Scotch ok?"

"Sure." She glanced at the numerous photos he had stuck on the fridge. Typical man, she thought, can't even buy a picture frame. There were pictures of Parker, formal and candid, she couldn't believe how much he looked like his father.. There was a picture of Seeley with Pops in front of the Hoover Building, smiling proudly and one of Seeley and his partner, cut out from a newspaper. Behind all of the ones visible, Kate saw the corner of one that appeared to be hidden. She carefully lifted the other photos and was surprised when she saw a snapshot of herself and Seeley looking at each other, not the camera, and smiling.

She remembered the exact moment it had been taken. It was the week before he had left for boot camp. They had gone to visit her family and her sister had snuck up on them one evening while they were talking on the porch and snapped the photo. Kate even remembered the conversation they were having in the picture. They were planning out their last few days together before he left. Kate started to think of all the plans they had made for their future, plans that never came to fruition and suddenly she felt like all of the air had been sucked out of her body.

Booth handed her a glass and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I've always thought that I'd romanticized what we had but maybe…"

"It was good, at least until it fell apart."

Kate nodded and then took a sip of her scotch. It burned her throat as she swallowed and then warmed her entire body.

"Should you even be drinking?"

"I don't know." She shrugged one shoulder, "I figure with only two months left I should enjoy myself."

He took a drink and sighed, "I really can't blame you."

Changing the subject, she gestured toward the picture of him and Brennan and smiled, "How's your partnership going?"

"It's good, great really." He looked at the picture and laughed under his breath, "I mean, she still drives me nuts and there are days when I think that it's more trouble than it's worth but it's good."

"She's beautiful."

He nodded and smiled, "Yeah, she is…"


	6. Chapter 6

The following afternoon, Cam walked into Brennan's office and handed her a stack of files, "Booth will need to give these to Caroline for the Brent case. Can you give them to him today?"

Brennan shook her head, "Booth took today off but I'll give them to him first thing Monday."

Cam cocked her head to the side, "Is he sick?"

"No, he has a friend visiting from out of town."

"Please tell me it's not that guy, Dean, who has a perpetual wad of chewing tobacco stuffed in his cheek."

"It's a woman, Katie or Kate. I understand that they dated for a substantial amount of time several years ago."

"Great…" Cam sighed and dropped to the couch, "Katie Davis is back."

Brennan stood and sat in the chair adjacent to were Cam sat, "So you know her?"

"Not exactly. I dated Seeley after he and Katie broke up. As a matter of fact, I was the first woman he dated after she left him. She really screwed him up."

"He seemed to be quite excited to see her again – it couldn't have been that bad."

Cam scoffed, "He's happy to see her because he probably only remembers the good times, I bet he's blocked out what she did to him."

"The way Booth described it, it sounded like they just had a difference of opinion over the future."

"That's true but I take it he didn't tell you how she broke up with him?'

Brennan, shook her head, "No, he didn't mention it."

"It's not my place to tell you, especially if he didn't but I will tell you that she's the reason relationships never work out for him. Why he unknowingly destroys romantic connections with just about every woman in his life – he can't stand the possibility of being hurt the way Katie hurt him. The way I see it, she ruined him."

Thinking over what Cam had said, Brennan could only mutter, "Oh…"

"I guarantee you that he still has the ring he bought her and a million other mementos of their relationship. He compares every woman to the perfect memory he has of a selfish, spoiled girl who shredded his heart and left him believing he was unworthy of anyone's love."

"Why do you think she came to see him?"

Cam rolled her eyes, "I have no idea but," she exhaled deeply, "I know she'll leave and he'll be right back to where he was when I first met him – sad and confused."

B&B

"Hey Bud?" Kate called out as she vigorously rubbed a towel through her freshly washed hair and walked into the living room.

"Yeah?" He looked up at her from the magazine he was flipping through but not reading. His mind was still focused on the bomb Katie had dropped a few hours before, she was dying and there was nothing that he could do about it.

"Think we could do something fun tonight? I really don't want to sit around here and hash out me being sick and all that stuff."

"I guess, we could get dinner and…" The truth was Booth didn't know if he could do anything but think about her illness.

"Not just dinner…" She sat down on the arm of the recliner he was sitting in, "There has to be something more lively going on in this town."

He thought for a minute, "There is a birthday party for one of the guys I work with, the bug guy, I guess we could go to that…" He regretted the suggestion as soon as he said it.

Kate grinned, "I would love to meet the people you work with."

Booth shook his head, he never could refuse that smile, "Ok, but I need to set some ground rules before we go."

"Like what?"

He inhaled deeply, "Well for starters, you're going to meet a woman named Angela – please do not tell her anything about us or the past. She eats up information like that like it's her job."


	7. Chapter 7

As Booth and Kate pulled up to Hodgins' estate he sighed and put the SUV in park. Turning to Kate he said, "Look, these aren't normal people. OK?"

"OK."

"No, I'm serious. They're all geniuses who spend most of their time hands deep in rotting corpses."

She scrunched her nose, "I think I'll be alright."

As she followed him up to the front door, he suddenly stopped and looked back at her, "We could just go get dinner, you know."

"I know but I'd rather meet your friends, Seeley."

"Fine." He huffed as he knocked on the door.

Angela answered the door and without even saying hello she asked, "Booth, who's your friend?"

"Angela this is Katie Davis, a friend from college"

"Actually it's just Kate" she said quietly…

He glanced at her and introduced her, "Katie this Angela Montenegro, she does facial reconstructions and…"

Angela cut him off, "I'm an artist."

Kate smiled, "Well whatever it is that you do, it's nice to meet you."

Booth looked around the cavernous foyer, "Are we the first ones here?"

"Cam and Hodgins are in the dining room, come on." Booth and Kate followed Angela into the other room where she announced with a smirk, "Look, Booth brought a girl."

Hodgins and Cam stopped their conversation in mid-sentence. Booth cleared his throat and introduced her, "This is Hodgins, he's our resident bug and slime guy, also the guest of honor and Cam, she runs the lab at the Jeffersonian."

"Hi," she gave them a tiny wave, "it's really nice to meet you guys. Seeley talks about you guys so much that I feel like I already know you."

"Aw, Booth you talk about us?" Angela teased him.

"Well, you're the only people I ever see what else am I going to talk about?" he smiled and winked at Angela.

Noticing that she uncharacteristically quiet, Booth made his way over to Cam, "What's eating you, Camille?"

She turned and glared at him, "You know, Seeley."

"Play nice, please? She's just visiting."

Cam shook her head, "I'll try but I make no promises."

"That a girl."

"I mean, don't you remember how miserable she made you, how wrecked you were when she –"

Booth cut her off, "Yes, I remember all of that but I also remember things that you know nothing about so, please." He looked across the room and saw Katie laughing with Angela and Hodgins and he couldn't stop staring at her, she looked so vibrant and full of life, it was a cruel twist that she'd be gone so soon.

Cam noticed the way he was looking at his diner date and misunderstood the emotion in his eyes for attraction, "Hey," she bumped her shoulder into his, "I just don't want you to get hurt – again."

He dropped his head and nodded as he thought to himself, _Too late for that_.

"You know, I'd love to know what Booth was like in college." Angela mentioned as she poured Kate a glass of wine.

Kate shrugged and smiled the way one did when they were recalling their favorite memory, "I don't know, he's still the same as far as I know. Although the years have been far kinder to him than to me, he's looking better than ever."

"Yeah, why is it men get better looking with age and we turn into hags?"

"I think it has something to do with us holding all the cards when we were younger, it's the universe's way of balancing things out."

Angela laughed, "That's probably right."

B&B

A short while later, Brennan and Sweets arrived and both seemed surprised to see Booth and even more surprised to see Kate.

"I didn't think you were coming." Brennan said to Booth as she handed her coat to Angela.

He looked at Cam and then to his partner, "Yeah, I didn't either but… it's a long story."

She looked over a Kate and forced a smile, "I'm happy you came, it'll be nice to get to know Kate."

"Oh yeah," Cam sighed, "that'll be really nice."

"You said you'd be nice."

"No, Seeley I said I would try – there's a huge difference."

Before they had the chance to rehash their previous conversation, Hodgins cleared his throat and announced that dinner was ready.

Booth was the last one to enter the dining room and as he looked at everyone taking their seats, he suddenly realized that it was going to be a long night.


	8. Chapter 8

After sitting next to Sweets for the salad course and laughing non-stop, Kate looked up, caught Booth's eye, "I love this kid! How come I haven't heard about him?"

"He's new," Booth barked, "and not so funny when he's picking your brain, right Bones?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, "I like Sweets."

Booth and Kate held court at dinner like the campus king and queen they had once been. They monopolized the conversation except when they deferred to the other dinner guests for points of interest and clarification. They began the meal sprinting down memory lane, just trying to catch everyone up to their history but by the end, they were strolling slowly down it, picking and choosing favorite memories, nothing too personal, to share with everyone.

Even Cam began to soften toward Kate when she saw the warmth and connection that this woman and Booth seemed to share. And she realized that Booth was right, there was a lot she didn't know about their past.

There was something about Kate that Brennan was naturally drawn to – she couldn't put her finger on it until Angela leaned over and said, "Can you believe it? She's Boothier than Booth."

"Angela, that doesn't make any sense."

"Watch them, they talk alike, they move the same way, they make the same facial expressions, everyone naturally gives them the floor when they start talking - everyone but you that is. Kate is like a female Booth."

Brennan didn't want to admit it but that was what she liked most about Kate - she was so much like Booth.

B&B

Later, as everyone gathered in the garden for cake, Sweets took a seat next to Kate, "It's interesting and rare to see Booth with a woman, other than Dr. Brennan, of course."

"He's just a very private guy – always has been."

Sweets nodded, "So why did he bring you here?"

Kate shrugged, "Because I asked him to."

"That's interesting."

"No, that's Seeley."

Booth noticed that Sweets and Kate were getting chummy and as he walked toward them to break up their gab session, his phone rang. After a short conversation, Booth snapped his phone shut and called toward the house, "Bones, we gotta boogie! We gotta body!"

Brennan stepped out of the house in front of Angela, who was carrying the birthday cake, "What are you yelling about, Booth?"

"We have a case." He turned around, "Katie, come on I'll drop you off on the way to the scene."

"Booth, she is more than welcome to hang out here until you guys finish up." Hodgins offered.

"No, she's coming with us." Booth shot back.

"Won't you have to bring Dr. Brennan back here to get her car afterwards? I'll just stay here and spend time with your friends?"

Booth stepped closer to her and dropped his voice, "I think you should go back to my place and get some sleep."

"That's ridiculous, why should I go back to your place, alone? When I can be here around other people?" She crossed her arms in front of her and leaned against the house, indicating that she wasn't going anywhere. Brennan recognized Kate's stance because this was something she had seen Booth do hundreds of times. She smiled to herself, Booth was no match for someone who behaved exactly like him.

"I don't know how long we'll be gone and you might get tired."

Kate looked at Hodgins, "How many bedrooms does this place have?"

"15, not counting the basement and the garage apartment."

Kate looked at Booth with a grin and said "15 rooms, not counting the basement and garage… If I get tired, I'll lay down, ok?"

Knowing he had been beat and that every minute he took to argue with her was another minute that Brennan's evidence was being compromised, he gave in. He led her away from the group and whispered, "Ok, I'll pick you up here later but if you get tired or sick please go lay down and call me, deal?"

"I will, Seeley. Now go do your thing. And while you're at it, try and shake off this gnarly mood of yours, you'd think you were the one dy..."

Booth cut her off, "Stop joking like that - I don't like it."

"Sorry, I'll see you later." She reached up and kissed him on the cheek and walked back to the rest of the group.

"Booth, can we go? I don't want the remains compromised." He turned around to see that Brennan was watching him and Kate.

"I know what you want, Bones. Let's go!" he looked back at the group as he and Brennan were walking out the door "Do you think leaving her here is a bad idea?"

"Do dogs love fleas?" She smiled.

Booth sighed "No Bones, it's 'do dogs have fleas'." He laughed to himself as they climbed into the SUV.


	9. Chapter 9

"Once Hodgins identifies the substance on the bones, we should have a better indication of the cause of death." Brennan stated as she and Booth got into the SUV to leave the crime scene. When Booth failed to respond she asked, "Are you listening to me?"

"Yeah, substance, cause of death. Got it." He confirmed while staring out into the night through the dew-streaked windshield.

"What's wrong?"

Booth shook his head, "I just… I've got a lot on my mind."

She smirked, "Kate?"

"Yeah but," he sighed, "not why you think." He reached for the gear shift, "We should get back."

In a rare moment of intuition, Brennan placed her hand on his arm and asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

He put the truck back into park and ran his hand down his face as he exhaled deeply, "Katie's sick."

"Is it serious?"

Booth remained silent for several, long moments and then nodded his head, "Yeah, she's dying."

"Booth…"

He rubbed his eyes and explained, "She has a heart condition, her Mom died when we were in college of the same thing. Katie has two months tops."

She had to look away from him as his eyes turned glassy, she needed to regain her own composure before she asked, "Is she here for treatment?"

"She didn't come here for that, Bones." He breathed out heavily, "She came to...she came to say good-bye..." He glanced over at Brennan, "I can't do it... She asked that I don't be sad about it and remember the good times but" He inhaled and Brennan heard a faint sniffle, "I can't and I don't want to."

"Booth, it's ok to be upset, really."

"You want to know what the worst thing about all of this is? I didn't even stop to think about what she's going through. I can only think about myself, how her dying will effect me."

"I assume that most people think of themselves first in any situation. It's like on an airplane when they tell you to put the oxygen mask on yourself before helping anyone else, you know? I think you need to determine how and what you feel before you can help her."

They sat quietly in the dark SUV for several minutes before Brennan asked, "How did you meet her?"

He ran his hand across his chin and smiled faintly, "My roommate had a band our junior year and she was the lead singer but she was also his girlfriend." He shook his head.

"I assume that you lost a roommate and gained a girlfriend?"

"Yeah, not that it was one of my finer moments but, yeah. But she was just so…she was so…. different. Smart, beautiful, able to command a room with just her presence. Have you ever known a person like that?"

She did, and he was sitting just a few feet from her.

"You know, I'm pretty good at anticipating what someone's going to do next but, I never got a handle on her, I still haven't gotten one on you either." He looked at her with one eye brow arched, "Katie and I, we were together for six years and she was constantly changing, I always worried that eventually she would change into someone I didn't love but…."

"She didn't, did she?" Brennan asked quietly

"No Bones, she didn't. Her ending things wrecked me, everyone thinks that what happened between Rebecca and I warped my outlook on relationships but it happened long before."

"What did happened with Kate?"

"After college, I joined the rangers and we stayed together. We had an apartment in Philly and I came home whenever I could but she struggled with me being gone having a dangerous job." He rested his head on the back of the seat and closed his eyes, "When my four years were up, the original plan had been for me to come back to the city and get a job teaching gym somewhere or any other kind of 'safe' job. But towards the end of my time in the army I decided that I wanted to join the bureau and Katie couldn't handle it."

"But she had to have known what kind of person you were, what you were truly gifted at."

"I don't know. But I do know that when I applied for the FBI I broke a major promise that I had made to her. She had spent the previous few years worried that I wasn't going to come home, she said she couldn't worry that way the rest of her life. Honestly at the time, I thought she was being overly dramatic, I thought that after I had been home awhile she wouldn't worry as much and I applied without ever telling her. My acceptance letter to Quantico was delivered to the apartment a week before I got home and when I got back she and all her stuff were gone."

"Booth, that's…" She wanted to say despicable but couldn't, it seemed too harsh for a woman who had a terminal illness.

"She left a letter apologizing for leaving, she said that she knew in her heart if she waited until I got home she never would have left me. That she would have spent the rest of her life afraid that every morning I left for work would be the last time she saw me. Coming home to that empty apartment almost destroyed me." He scoffed, "I have always let people assume that my gambling got out of control after I got home because of what I did overseas but the truth is, it was because of her and I was too proud to tell anyone that my self-destruction was over a girl. I wanted people to think I was above that."

"Well, you were successful because I never once thought that."

"I got so good at it that I even fooled a genius, huh?" He looked over at his partner and smiled, "So now you know the truth and besides Katie and me, you may be the only other person who knows."

"Thank you for sharing that with me, I know how much you hate to divulge things about your past to anyone."

Booth laughed and placed his hand over Brennan's that was still holding onto his arm, "Yeah, you know I like to remain a man of mystery." Mindlessly he ran his hand over hers in the same pattern, back and forth across and then in a circle. "You know what weirdest thing about all of this is?"

Brennan shook her head, "No, I don't."

"Up until last night, if anyone had ever asked me to describe Katie in one word it would have been alive. She was always so much bigger than life and the world just seemed to be drawn to her. Do you have any idea what it's like to be around someone like that?"

She smiled, "I absolutely do."


	10. Chapter 10

Kate was wandering through the twinkle lit garden when Hodgins caught up with her. "Hey, I'm sorry that you got stuck with us. I wish I could say that this was an abnormal occurrence - Booth and Dr. Brennan running off, but it's not."

She smiled "I know, and I'm happy to spend time with all of you. It gives me piece of mind."

"Piece of mind?"

"Seeley can be very much a loner and it's nice to know that he has you guys."

Hodgins arched a brow, "I get the feeling there's a whole lot more to your story, baby."

"Booth says you're a conspiracy nut."

"The big guy isn't wrong, but I'm not wrong about you, am I?"

"No, you're not." She hated that she was so transparent but figured she didn't have much to lose any more. "Jack, do you smoke?"

"Only Cohiba Esplendidos."

"They'll more than do. Share a stogie with me and I'll share a story with you." She hooked her arm with his and whispered close to his ear, "But, you can't tell Seeley I was smoking."

"You were doing what?" he asked with a grin as he led her back to the house.

Once settled in the library, Kate filled him in on the years she spent with Booth, including the tumultuous last few months of their relationship, before she got to the aftermath, Angela and Sweets had joined them.

"Kate was just catching me up on what a coed Booth was like."

Angela's eyes widened as she took a seat on the arm of Hodgins' chair, "I'm sorry I missed it."

"Yeah, me too." Sweets took a seat next to Kate, "He'd hate it if he knew you were sharing with us."

Kate shrugged as she blew out a plume of smoke, "Seeley has plenty of other things to be worried about these days."

"Keep going." Hodgins pleaded, "What happened after you left?"

"Well, after we broke up, we didn't talk for years but then a mutual friend was killed in a car accident and we reconnected at the funeral. He was dating Rebecca by that time and we were able become friends again or actually for the very first time." She paused, lost in her own reminiscing. "We've managed to stay in touch on a fairly regular basis but getting to know him again only reminded me of what a huge mistake I made when I left him."

"Are you here because of that?" Angela asked, trying to not come across too judgmental.

"No, I know I had my chance…" She stood to stretch, "It's just good to see him. I've noticed this change in him over the last few years. Phone conversations that used to be under 10 minutes are now an hour or longer. He shares things with me that I never expect…He's content, he's the Seeley I knew all those years ago. It's like the part of him that he closed off after the military, after me, has slowly been pushed opened."

"This is Booth open?" Sweets scoffed.

"Good lord yes." Kate plucked a rubber band off her wrist and pulled her hair up. "You should have known him 10 years ago."

Angela took a sip of wine and then asked, "So, let me get this straight – you're here to make sure that your ex is happy and content but you don't want him back?"

"Pretty much."

"No woman is that benevolent especially when a man like Booth is concerned."

"Yeah, I know it doesn't make a lot of sense but when I found out I was sick, that I was dying, I had to make sure that he was going to be ok, that he was happy." Kate was trying hard to not cry in front of her new confidants.

"You're dying?" Angela asked in almost slow motion.

"I am, I have a hereditary heart condition."

Angela was in shock "I am so sorry, there's nothing anyone can do for you?"

"We know people, experts in their fields…" Hodgins added.

"You sound just like him, no there's nothing else that can be done. My Mom died of the same thing when I was in college. But thank you, I appreciate it." She wiped a tear from her cheek.

Hodgins cleared his throat "I don't mean to sound insensitive but why are you so worried about Booth being ok?"

"He and I go way back. There is no one else in my life, not even my family, that knows me the way he does. We were so young when we met… God, I loved him so much, I just….I lived for him and that smile and he….he gave me all he had…. when I left him, it wasn't good, we both fell to pieces and it took a long time to put ourselves back together…When we talk now, he's so honest and I'm worried that I'm the only person he's honest with. I'm worried that because he's so concerned with being the tough guy, the protector, that no one will ever know when he's hurt or sad….." She couldn't hold it back any more, she started to weep. "I can't leave him alone, I can't die knowing that he's given up on letting himself be happy because he thinks he doesn't deserve it."

The others sat in silence as Kate turned away from them to pull herself and then excused herself to the bathroom.

Sweets looked at Angela and Jack, "Wow… that's just…"

"Can you even imagine?" Angela asked, "She's what, 33? And her life is over?" she asked with tears in her eyes.

Hodgins pulled Angela into his lap and said "I know."

"You think Booth knows?"

He nodded, "Probably. How do you think he's handling it?"

Sweets took a gulp of his gin and tonic and sighed, "Like everything else, internally and on his own."


	11. Chapter 11

It was late when Booth and Brennan returned to Hodgins' house, before they entered the house Booth stopped and turned to his partner, "Bones, thank you."

Brennan seemed startled, this was the first time he had spoken since they had started the drive back, "For what?"

"Thanks for…you know…..just being here."

"Anytime, Booth."

They stood there in a comfortable silence for several minutes before she said, "You should probably get Katie home so she can rest."

He nodded as he opened the door. The minute Angela heard the front door open she ran to Booth. "Booth, I am so sorry." She hugged the unsuspecting agent. Hodgins and Brennan stood still watching the exchange between them.

"About what?" he was pretty sure he knew what she was talking about but didn't want to give it away if she didn't.

"Kate told us why she's here." She confessed with pain in her eyes.

Booth glanced at Brennan, "She did? I should have figured as much. I appreciate you letting her hang out with you guys."

"It was our pleasure. She's lovely Booth, just lovely."

"Where is she?" he looked around the massive house, he couldn't imagine where to start looking.

Hodgins stepped forward "She fell asleep upstairs in the library, I'll show you."

The two men bounded up the stairs and as soon as they entered the library the heavy-hanging scent of cigar smoke hit Booth and he turned to Hodgins, "Was she smoking? You know she's sick. Why would you let her do that?"

Hodgins held up his hands, "Hey, in my defense, she didn't tell us she was sick until she had already lit the cigar."

"I can't blame you. Katie has always had a way of getting her way."

"Yeah," Hodgins smiled, "beautiful women have a way of doing that."

B&B

"Why did you tell everyone?" Booth asked Kate as he stood in the doorway of his bathroom, watching her wash her face, a few hours later.

She turned while drying her cheeks with a towel, "I didn't mean to. It just came out." She dropped the towel on the back of the toilet and squeezed past him. "Besides, it's my life or rather my death – I have a right to tell whomever I like."

"You barely know them."

She sat down on the bed and sighed, "You can't control everything, Seeley."

"I know…" He sat down next to her and then laid down, staring at the ceiling.

"I just wanted to..." She started to cough, hack actually, and Booth sat up quickly. "I'm fine," she said when she noticed the look of concern on his face, "I get winded easily and it's been a hell of a day - I just need to sleep."

She pulled the covers back and slipped into the bed, Booth laid down beside her on top of the covers. He rolled on his side and asked, "What did you tell them about us anyway?"

"Just stuff…" she yawned, "Seeley, I'm exhausted."

"I know, I'm sorry. You being here is...it's just hard for me, ok?"

"Look at it from my side for a minute, Bud. I spent years spinning my wheels, running all over hell and creation trying to find a place in the world that I belonged and now I'm going to die having never found it." She wiped a few tears off her cheek, "I never found it…"

"Katie…" He rolled over and stroked her hair.

"I just want you to find your place before it's too late. I have to say that after tonight, I'm not too worried any more. The people in your life are outstanding. People who I never would have thought you would talk to let alone..."

"What, 'let alone' what?

"These people - Temperance, Jack, Angela, Cam, Sweets - these people are your family. They love you, Seeley." She rolled over, away from him, "And you love them too – I can see it and hear it. And that's what I want for you."

Booth, knowing how exhausted she was, let the conversation drop. As she fell asleep, she began breathing heavily and wheezing slightly. Before he turned the light off he took a long-unfiltered-by-memories-or-lust look at her. He noticed her pale and sullen skin, the dark circles under her once luminous eyes and how thin and frail she looked in his king sized bed. For the first time since she arrived, Booth saw the illness that was going to take her away from him and the sight made him quickly turn off his bedside lamp. He realized that there was nothing he could do to help her - he couldn't charm, shoot or fight this disease. And he started to cry.

He cried for this amazing creature that he had loved so much for so long, he cried for the fear she must feel inside but wouldn't show and he cried because he knew exactly how alone in the world she thought she was – it hadn't been that long since he'd felt the same way.

This is really happening, he thought, the girl whose light had always burned brighter than anyone's was slowly fading away. He laid down next to her and quietly said, "Katie, you're not alone. You always had a place in my world, whether you wanted it or not."


	12. Chapter 12

Throughout the night Booth tossed and turned but never found sleep. Finally, around 3am, he got out of bed and quietly pulled an old but never forgotten box from his closet and took it out into the living room with him.

He set it down on the coffee table and stared at it for several minutes before getting up and pouring himself a drink. Settling back down on the couch, he carefully pulled the top off the box and in an instant, a thousand memories flooded the room.

A Pearl Jam t-shirt from a concert at the Spectrum was the first thing to catch his eye. He pulled it out of the box and held it up, it was torn and had paint spots all over it from the time they had attempted to paint their crappy little apartment. He took a sip of his scotch and smiled, what should have been a one day job turned into a week-long paint fight between the two of them and they never did get all the walls painted.

Underneath the shirt was a worn, folded piece of paper and his heart sank as soon as he saw it. He leaned back into the couch and re-read the letter he'd read 100 times before.

_Bud –_

_ By the time you read this I'll be halfway to California and I'm so very sorry for that. I hate for you to return home to an empty apartment but I just couldn't stay. I hope you know just how much I love you and how incredibly hard this is for me. You have been my everything for nearly six years now and the idea of a life without you scares me to death but the idea of being with you and losing you is something worse than dying._

_ I want you to know just how incredible you are and exactly what you and our time together has meant to me – it has meant everything. My decision to leave hasn't been an easy one, I've been crying for days and have packed and then unpacked my boxes several times._

_ In the end, I chose to leave you because I couldn't bear the thought of ever losing you to your work. I would rather cling to the time we had, remember you as you are, as we were, and try to make it on my own._

_ I do love you, I know that my actions don't reflect that but I do and I know that I always will. You are the best thing that ever happened to me and you've set the bar very high for the rest of my life._

_ Take care of yourself, be good to yourself – no one deserves it more._

- _Katie_

Booth folded the letter and laid it on his chest as remained reclined on the couch and finished his drink. "Katie, Katie, Katie…" he sighed.

His thoughts drifted to the night before, he thought about his confession to Brennan and what Katie had said to him about finding his place in the world. Then he wondered if those two things had anything to do with each other.

B&B

Kate came padding out of the bedroom around 11am to a ballgame playing rather loudly in the living room, "I'm sorry I slept so long."

Booth turned the TV down, "You need your rest, it's ok."

She sat down on the couch and yawned, "So, what's on the agenda for today?"

"Well, I wasn't sure what you would be up for so… What do you want to do?"

Kate smiled slyly, "I'd like to get to know that partner of yours. I spent time with everyone but her last night."

He chuckled, "You want to get to know Bones?"

"I really do." The pleading in her eyes rendered him helpless.

With a sigh, he reached for his phone, "Fine, I'll see if she wants to have lunch with us."

B&B

Lunch began uneventful enough. The three adults sat in silence at the diner while they waited for the waitress to bring their orders. After their meals had been served, they all started to relax – slightly. Kate and Booth started to reminisce about a diner in Philly they had been regulars at and then moved on to gossip about former classmates.

Kate then turned her attention to Brennan, asking her about the case they were currently working on, that led to Booth and Brennan regaling Kate with former cases and odd occurrences they had come across over the years they had worked together.

Listening to them, Kate picked up on a subtle intimacy and closeness between the two partners and it intrigued her, "So, what do two hot single people like yourselves normally do on a Saturday night?" Kate asked as she stirred her coffee.

Booth and Brennan looked at each other and shrugged "You're looking at it." Booth replied.

"That's…that's sad," she looked at Booth, "Sorry bud but the truth hurts."

"Sometimes, I have Parker and he and I go to a game or the movies….."

"And I spend a lot of time with my brother, Russ, and his daughters."

"You don't spend that much time with Russ." Booth pointed out.

"Well you only have Parker every other weekend." She shot back.

"Whoa guys. I was only joking around, cool it." Kate knew the truth that they were so shy about sharing. The truth being, if they weren't with their respective families or working a case they were here, at this diner together and neither of them would have it any other way.

"So what was Booth like in college?" Brennan asked Kate but never took her eyes off of Booth.

He knew that mischievous smirk his partner was wearing and he held his hand up, "No, we're not getting into that – are we Katie?"

Kate leaned to the side and rested her hand on Booth's shoulder. "The way I see it, bud is I'm not gonna be around much longer and someone needs to know the Tao of Seeley Booth."

"Katie, please stop talking like that I told you –"

"I can't, it's the truth. It's going to happen, I'm going to die and there's nothing you can do to stop it." Under the table she gave his knee a comforting squeeze.

"Booth is probably having a hard time with this because your illness isn't something that he can protect you from – he can't shoot it or punch it or smile at it and get it to confess. But he would if he could."

Booth sat quietly, he had had the exact same thought the previous night and he was certain he hadn't shared it with Brennan. It startled him that she had come to know him that well.

"I know." Kate responded quietly

Booth stood up "I'm going to pay the bill and go to the bathroom– that's all the time I'm giving you to talk about me." He winked at Katie and walked away.

"What do you want to know?" Kate asked enthusiastically with wide eyes.

"Was he always like this?"

"Like what?"

"You know, confident and charming?"

"He was, as long as I have known him he's had that smile and that swagger. Never did anything unless he could do it well and he can do most things well. He always reminded me of Hubble from 'The Way We Were', you know the guy that everything came too easily to?"

"I've never heard of that."

"It's a movie with Barbara… Never mind…Is there anything else you want to know?"

"I guess, I just wish I knew who he was back then." Brennan said with her brows furrowed.

Kate leaned across the table and tapped Brennan on her hand, "I think it's more important that you know who he is now. Trust me, now is what's most important."

"Ladies?" Booth called from the entrance "Time's up!"


	13. Chapter 13

After dinner Kate and Booth made their way back to his place. He wanted to know what she thought about Brennan, what questions she asked while he was away from the table and what Kate's answers were but he didn't want to seem over anxious. While sitting in the living room, watching Sports Center, he asked "How long are you going to stay?"

"I'm going to head home, to Philly, Monday morning."

"I wish you would stay here longer… I can take time off of work and we can –"

"What? We can wallow in our mutual sadness, together? I don't think so, besides my dad wants me home."

"I understand that, can I at least take you home?"

"Oh, Seel…" She sighed, "I'd really like that."

He turned toward her on the couch, "And you'll let me visit?"

"You ask like I have a say in the matter" she said playfully.

"I just know how you can be about things – I don't want to intrude on your time with your family."

She leaned over and rested her head on his chest, "My dad loves you, he'd be thrilled to see you. I just don't want you taking too much time away from your life."

He wrapped his arm around her and gave her a gentle squeeze, "Don't you worry about that."

They turned their attention back to the TV and during the next commercial break Booth asked, "So what did you and Bones talk about?"

She smiled, "I really like her, Bud. She's…she's different, in a good way but very different, you know?"

He chuckled, "Oh yeah, I know."

"Is there anything else there, between you two?" Her eyes twinkled with her question.

"What? No, I mean we work together and we've become friends but that's all." He chose to not reveal to Kate that he had divulged more about his life to his partner than any other person he'd known because instinctually he knew she was the only one he could share those parts of himself with.

Kate sat up and placed her hands on either side of his face, "I know when you're not telling the truth – I always have."

"Look, Bones is great, but …" He sighed, "It's taken a long time for her just to get comfortable with me and to trust me but…"

"But?" She chided.

"People always mistake our partnership and friendship for something more but it's not. Besides, it would never work between the two of us."

Kate felt that she was close to getting him to admit exactly how he felt – she just had to be patient. "Why?"

"She doesn't believe in God, or marriage and she doesn't want any children of her own – do I have to go on?"

"So those are the only reasons you aren't with her? Why you haven't made a move?" She smiled and crossed her arms in front of her, "Funny, I didn't hear you say that you didn't want her …."

"None of those things matter, ok? The other stuff is just….it's too big, ok?." He got up and went into the bedroom. Kate followed, she sat down on the bed while he dug through one of his dresser drawers.

"Look Bud, when you and I were together, I wanted to get married and have kids and I believed in God. And look at me now, I don't want or believe in any of 'em. People change, their life experiences change their outlook on the world, Temperance is capable of change – you of all people should know that."

"Maybe..." He thought for a moment, pushing hopeful thoughts of Brennan actually being able to change and focused on the woman in front of him, and asked, "So there was never anyone else you wanted to marry?"

"Nah, I would have been settling for less than. You have remained the yardstick that I measure everyone else against and just about every other guy doesn't even come close."

He sat down next to her and grinned, "In what areas?"

Kate smiled. "Some were lacking in the big departments; compassion, intelligence, sense of humor, sex…." Their eyes locked and Booth blushed, Kate continued, "Others lacked in the small areas – none of them could ever make the perfect omelet or make up words to whatever song was on the radio to cheer me up or would graciously put up with my obnoxious sister hitting on them or, she started to cry, "I'm going to miss it all so much. I'm going to miss you so much…I came here to say good bye but I don't think I can now that….."

Booth reached over and put his arms around her. "I know, I've thought a lot about it since you got here. I know we've been apart for a long time but I was always ok with it because I knew you were still out there, somewhere in the world but now…" He was trying hard to not cry, to be strong for her but he couldn't hold it in any longer.

"But now….." she sighed "When I left for L.A. I told you that I wanted to know you all my life – I guess I have."

"I still have the letter you left me. Every time I've moved, I thought to throw it away but some things you can just never get rid of." He stood, walked over to his closet and pulled down the box. He handed the tattered and torn letter to Kate. She was struck by the wear and tear the letter had survived – realizing that he must have read and re-read it several times, the thought of that only made her cry harder. She started to read the letter out loud…


	14. Chapter 14

The next morning Booth woke up to an empty apartment, he found a note on the kitchen counter from Kate saying she had gone out to pick up breakfast.

But across town Kate was making another stop before picking up breakfast. It wasn't quite 8am but she assumed that Brennan would already be at the Jeffersonian and she was right. A guard led her into Brennan's office.

"Kate, aren't you leaving today?" she asked obviously startled by her early morning visitor

"I am, we're going to leave in a few hours. I just wanted to stop in and say good bye to you." Kate sat down in the chair across from the desk. "And to say thank you."

Brennan's brow furrowed, "For what?"

"I'm happy to know that Seeley is not alone in the world."

"Of course he's not, he's got Parker and his family and –"

"He has you," Kate cut her off, "It seems to me that _you_are the reason he's not alone. Even with Parker and his family he was still very lonely before he met you. Didn't it ever occur to you that he worked alone before you? Isn't that unusual?"

Brennan's eyes narrowed "I never really thought about it. I just thought he liked it that way."

"He worked alone because he was a pretty cranky SOB, he's very much a solitary person, a lone wolf. Or at least he was." Kate smiled "Temperance, this is a good thing – why do you look so upset?"

"I never thought about it. It honestly never crossed my mind" she shook her head back and forth "How have I made things better? I don't understand."

"You gave him a chance to redeem himself and not only by helping him catch murderers. But…..well, look at how close the two of you are. He has told me about everything you have been through and how far you've come in the time you've worked together. I think he feels that if he's able to help you, that if someone like you can know who he is and what he's done and still trust him, then maybe the army didn't make him a monster."

"Someone like me? I don't know what that means and Booth is not a monster – he's…he's a good man, and I care for him greatly. I don't think I've ever told him that." She was obviously shaken at her own admission.

"Seeley's a lot of things; he's loyal and honest and so hot that he makes most women's teeth sweat. But he's not a mind reader, even though sometimes it appears differently. Tell him how you feel – don't be a fool."

Brennan was confused "Your teeth don't have sweat glands so they couldn't sweat –"

"It's just an expression." Kate laughed to herself. "I should get back, I told him I was going to get breakfast and if I don't show up soon he'll have a search party out looking for me." She stood and reached her hand out to the other woman. "It was nice meeting you, Temperance."

Brennan shook her hand and smiled, "You too, Kate."

As Kate left the Jeffersonian she hoped that she had given Brennan something to think about but she had no idea just how hard or for how long the other woman would think about her words.

**A/N Very short chapter but the next will be up soon!**


	15. Chapter 15

"How's Kate?" Brennan asked a few weeks later while she and Booth were having breakfast. She tried to not pry too much about Booth's friend or the time he spent with her but as more time passed, he became more and more distracted and she wanted him to know that she was there for him.

He sighed, "The same…maybe worse. I don't…" Booth had spent the weekend in Philadelphia with Kate and her family.

"I know how difficult this is for you. We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"I just don't know what to say. She'll be gone soon and…" he took a sip of his coffee and then continued, "I get this feeling that… never mind."

"No, what?"

"I get this feeling that I'm losing a part of who I was. Like she holds my past and when she's gone, it'll be gone." He shook his head, "I know it doesn't make any sense."

It didn't make any sense to Brennan but she didn't want to tell him that so she asked, "How does her family seem to be handling everything?"

"Dina, her sister, is a wreck and her dad is trying to be strong but he's starting to fray around the edges. Katie wanting everyone to be happy and not sad is wearing them down. There's a lot of crying on the back porch, away from Katie."

Brennan frowned, "I can't even imagine how difficult it must be for them." She reached out and touched his hand, "Or for you."

He fought the instinct to pull away and let her hand linger on top of his, "It's not about me, Bones."

"It is. From the little time I spent with Kate it seemed to me that she has accepted that she is going to die. And I have to think that her wanting people around her to be happy is a way for her to not wallow." She pressed her hand into his, "But that doesn't mean you have to be strong all the time."

They sat in silence for several long moments before Booth spoke, "I'm so pissed at her."

"Because she's sick?" She asked in confusion.

"No," he shook his head and sank back into his seat, "because she had to come back and remind me of a life I could have had, of who I once was and now she's going to leave me. She's going to leave me again."

B&B

Later that night, Booth got the call he'd been dreading for months. Katie's sister called to let him know that they were moving her to hospice, that there was nothing more that could be done.

He sat on his bed, phone still in his hand, and stared. Unable to move, all he could do was think about the conversation he's had with Katie the previous weekend.

She'd been poking and prodding for weeks about his relationship with Brennan, breaking him down, wearing him down week by week until she finally got him to admit his

"I am in love with her." He had whispered late one night when he thought she was asleep.

Her eyes popped open, "So, what's the problem?"

"We don't work, not that way. We couldn't… Bones and I, we have dangerous jobs and the people we are close to are always in danger."

"So what you're saying is that 'With great power comes great responsibility'? Kate rolled on her side to get a better look at him. She was amused.

Booth nodded, "Yes"

"That's bullshit! I know that for someone who's been shot like a dozen times and is still kicking, it may be hard for you to remember but, you, Seeley Booth are not Superman - you are a mere mortal!"

"It's not totally in my control, Katie. You've spent time with her - she's not exactly open to things - it's taken me close to four years to get to the place where we are right now."

"Oh, you mean the place where you're in love with her but too scared to admit it - how's the weather in that place?"

"You don't understand - you can't."

"Here's what I do understand. You weren't the first and you weren't the last but you were the most significant love of my life, Seel."

He reached over and gripped her hand, "I could say the same about you, Katie"

"But the thing is I don't want you, at the end of your life, to be saying that."

Booth shook his head, pulling himself out of his memory, and went to his closet to pack; he was headed home to say good-bye to Katie.


	16. Chapter 16

Shadows are falling and I'm running out of breath**  
**Keep me in your heart for awhile

If I leave you it doesn't mean I love you any less**  
**Keep me in your heart for awhile

_When you get up in the morning and you see that crazy sun**  
**Keep me in your heart for awhile_

_There's a train leaving nightly called when all is said and done**  
**Keep me in your heart for awhile_

**_Sometimes when you're doing simple things _****_around the house_**

**_Maybe you'll think of me and smile_**

**_You know I'm tied to you like the buttons on  
your blouse  
Keep me in your heart for awhile_**

_Hold me in your thoughts, take me to your dreams**  
**Touch me as I fall into view**  
**When the winter comes keep the fires lit**  
**And I will be right next to you_

_Engine driver's headed north to Pleasant Stream**  
**Keep me in your heart for awhile_

_These wheels keep turning but they're running out**  
**of steam**  
**Keep me in your heart for awhile_

_- Warren Zevon_

"You should be counting your lucky stars, pal." Katie said late the next night in a voice that was frail and soft.

Booth sat down in the chair next to her bed, "What do you mean?"

"If things had worked out between us, you'd be saying good-by to your wife and not an old girlfriend."

He scooted the chair closer to her and grabbed her pale hand, "You know you're more than that."

With the little strength she had left, she pulled herself to sit up slightly and struggled to say, "Listen to me… you were the love of my life, please promise me I won't be yours."

Booth closed his eyes and nodded, "I promise."

Kate smiled, her lips slightly blue, "Good…" She laid back down in the bed and closed her eyes.

As she slipped into a deep sleep, Booth sat back and thought about the last two months of his life. It had been a confusing few months, it seemed as Katie slipped further away he and Brennan had grown closer and that closeness was at the same time the most comforting thing he had ever felt and it was the scariest. And he knew Brennan felt it too and to his surprise she hadn't balked, she had only settled deeper into it.

He looked over at Katie and noticed her breathing had become shallow, she was slipping way for good.

Booth slowly tore himself away from her bedside and went out to the nurses' station so they could call her family, so they could be there at the end.

He went back into the room and stared at her, the woman he never really stopped loving, the one who held his past within her. He kissed her forehead and sat back down and waited. Katie's father and sister arrived silently and took their place on the other side of her bed. The trio said nothing to each other, there was nothing to be said.

She took her last breath at 3:54am and for the second time in 12 years, Katie Davis broke his heart.

Booth sat and stared at her several minutes her hand still tucked in his, he didn't cry. He was too tired, too sad and too overwhelmed by the moment to do anything but kiss her cheek and leave the room.

In a daze, he made it to his car. He sat there for several minutes, trying to hold himself together before he went back to Katie's father's house, which he knew would be full of family and friends who were waiting for the bad news.

Then, without a thought in his mind, he picked up his phone and dialed a number he knew by heart. When his call was answered he sighed and the tears he had been holding back began to flow. "Hey Bones."

"Booth?" Brennan sat up in bed. She was used to early morning calls from Booth considering the work they did but she instinctively knew that this was different, this was personal.

On the other end of the line, Booth gulped in a large amount of air, "Katie's gone."

"Are you alright?" She knew he wasn't, she could hear him crying – a sound that was entirely foreign to her.

He sighed, "Yeah…I knew it was coming but…she's gone."

"I'm very sorry, Booth. Is there anything I can do?"

"No…" He thought for a moment and realized he wanted her there, with him, but didn't know how to ask, "Actually, could you…I don't know if you're busy or not but I'm going to be here for a few more days and I'd…Are you busy?"


	17. Chapter 17

Later that day, Booth returned back to DC. Even though he had known the reason he had returned to Philadelphia, he had failed to pack a suit for Katie's funeral.

Brennan met him at his apartment and sat quietly while he gathered his things. When he came back into the living room, bag slung over his shoulder, she noticed that he looked almost frail, weak and she had never seen him in that state before.

Booth and Brennan were about halfway through their trip when they stopped in Wilmington, Delaware to stretch their legs and get something to eat.

"I'm glad you came with me, Bones – it means a lot to me."

"You would do it for me, actually you have done it for me." She said quietly, remembering how supportive he had been when they buried her mother a few years back.

"I guess I did, this is going to be interesting. I talked to Diana, Katie's sister, this morning and apparently Katie left something that she requested I read at the funeral."

"You hate public speaking."

"I know, this is her getting me to do one last thing against my will." He smiled, something he hadn't done a lot of over the past few months. Things with him and Brennan were good but there was a quiet frustration between them under the surface. They were caught in a holding pattern – both knowing what they wanted but both too scared to land.

"Are they expecting a lot of people?" Brennan didn't have many people from her past that she was close to and she hadn't attended many funerals that weren't work related.

"For Katie? Oh yeah, they'll be hanging from the rafters. Pops is even coming – you'll finally get to meet him – that's gotta be worth the long car ride, huh?"

"Isn't that a little odd?" She pushed her lunch aside, all of the sudden she wasn't hungry anymore.

"Katie and I were together for a long time…" He noticed the change in her demeanor and asked, "What, are you scared to meet him?" He laughed to himself at the thought of the overly-confident Brennan being intimidated by meeting his grandfather.

"I'm not scared – it was just unexpected, that's all. We should get back on the road – can I drive, please?"

"Yes, but only because you've been very…you've been very sweet." He blushed at his choice of words and tossed her the keys. They headed out to the parking lot.

"I've been sweet? That's a little condescending, Booth."

"Fine, then you can't drive!" He snatched the keys back from her. "If you can't take what I say at face value and stop reading into every little thing you can't drive." He smiled, the good smile, the one that made her weak.

"Ok, I'm sweet, I'm sugarcane if that makes you happy. Can I drive?"

"Yeah, I'm tired anyway." He unlocked the car and followed Brennan to the driver's side to hand her the keys, before he did, he kissed her on the cheek and whispered in her ear "Thanks again, Bones."

B&B

Entering Kate's father's house was overwhelming for Brennan. She had only recently started to feel comfortable with accepting everyone at the Jeffersonian and Booth as family, now she was being thrusted into a house full of people who all had a past together and who regarded everyone who entered as family. They could hear a large group talking and laughing.

Brennan looked at Booth "Why are they so jovial? It's a funeral."

"They're Irish Catholic…It's hard to explain if you haven't been around it before. This will be a good opportunity for you to observe a different culture" He cocked one eyebrow up and smiled. "Let's get this over with." He took a large breath and started to walk forward.

Booth reached out and grabbed her hand as they walked into the kitchen where everyone had gathered. Brennan wasn't sure if he did because he was scared or because he sensed her anxiety – either way she was thankful he did.

"Seeley, my boy!" A large man approached the pair from behind the kitchen island and enveloped Booth into a tight hug.

"How you holding up?"

"My baby's gone, but at least we had time to say good-bye, right? We're lucky that way, aren't we?"

"Yes, sir we are. This is Dr. Temper-"

"Dr. Temperance Brennan, your partner." A woman equally as attractive as Kate walked over to them "Katie told us all about her. I'm Diana."

Brennan timidly shook her hand.

"I'm a big fan of your books."

"Oh, thank you." Brennan said as she watched Booth hug Diana.

Once they sat down at the kitchen table and shared a drink with Kate's family, Brennan finally began to relax. She slowly surveyed the room and suddenly had an inkling that this was the life Booth could have had, one full of love and family, and she felt her chest tighten with the realization.

"You ok, Bones?"

"Yeah" she said almost in a daze.

"We should go check in at the hotel, huh?"

Brennan nodded, "I am a little tired from the trip."

"Give me a minute, there's a few people I should see."

Booth circulated through the kitchen and then the living room quickly shaking hands and exchanging hugs with all who had gathered. When he finally made his way back to Brennan, she had a look of awe on her face.

"Ready?"

She offered him a weak smile, "Sure."

They quickly made their way back to the car and Brennan tossed Booth the keys. "You know your way around here better than me."

They rode in silence to the hotel, and when they pulled into the parking lot he turned and looked at her. "Bones, what's going on in that over-sized, genius brain of yours?"

"I just…..your life could have been so different… Better in some aspects…." Her eyes began to tear up and she couldn't logically pinpoint a reason.

"Different, sure. But probably not better." He reached over and wiped a tear from her face.


End file.
